Faith

Hello all and Praise God. I pray that He has blessed you this week. So I finally got back into the swing of things after being gone. I wanted to share that the other day Jenn was trying to help me out by going and buying supplies for sandwiches and had a terrible time just trying to get through the check out. The machine was malfunctioning, the lane had to be closed, all kinds of out of the ordinary things that would make most people just want to put everything back and go home. I am so very proud that Jenn pressed through and got the supplies that we needed. The first thing she said when she got home was that, it sure is tough trying to help out the sandwiches. So I guess we must be doing something right with this whole sandwich thing. I get a lot of people asking me what we put in these lunches so I had the main sandwich maker Cameron pose with one of the lunches, so that everyone could see what goes in them. (See bottom of post)

I was blessed this week by having both Ed and Greg accompany me. Both had done it before so they knew what they were getting into. We had a good week in that we got to do a little bit of everything. We had a little study, got to drive around and meet new people, got to visit in some people in there homes. We drove around first and got to see both new and old faces, which I always enjoy. Then we went to the study block. At first glance there was nobody, I mean nobody around. We decided to stop, get out and see what God might do. Well we barely stepped foot out of the car, when all the sudden you see people coming out all over the place. It was really a day of prayer, everybody just wanted to pray. So we gathered together and prayed. After this, we started handing out more lunches and talking and as new people came by they wanted to pray, so we gathered up again and prayed again. Then we had some fellowship and we read a few scriptures (Psalm 27) and then you guessed it we gathered together and prayer again. There is something very special about people just wanting and yearning to pray. It was a special time.

Our friend Glenda was not around to get lunches or to take lunch to Aunt Gussie, so Dolores told us where she lived, and off we went. Our first stop was Gussies’.  (She is on dialysis see previous posts) She was so delighted that we came to her and remembered her. She told us that she loved us and that she prays for us. It was so special to see someone who is just so overwhealmed by God’s love for them that they just don’t quite know what to say or to do. I thank God that he has allowed me to be part of His work and has given me the privledge to be front row and see first hand the joy that His love brings. So after leaving Gussies, she told us where Glenda lived, so off we went.

I can’t speak for Ed or Greg but God kept the most moving piece of the day for last. Our visit to Glenda’s trailer. Glenda just has the best spirit about her. She really does not have much at all and she was telling us that her car had just broken down, and instead of having any kind upset in her voice she was almost glad saying that “God has a reason and that He must have kept me out of an accident or something.” I really can’t put into words what I was feeling and seeing standing there in Glenda’s trailer. Here is a woman in very poor health, living in not the best of living conditions by any means (a very big understatement), her only form of transportation is in no working condition, with no knowledge of if or when it might be in working condition again, What little income she does have about 80% goes to paying for medications that medicare won’t cover, and her attitude is that she is grateful to God for what He has given her and what He is protecting her from. Wow, is all I have to say, what faith she has, to see through her circumstances, and to look to God for everything. She is amazing, how in the world does God have me leading the bible study that she comes to. There is not anyone outside of the Bible that I have ever known that has more faith than her. We can all be encouraged by her, not for what she is enduring but because of the spirit that God has blessed her with. I am going to stop writing and ask that this week you think about Glenda, pray for her, and to just be thankful for everything that God has blessed you with, bad or good. Take joy in knowing that all hardships that you receive are but discipline from God and that God only disciplines his children. I think that it is said best in Hebrews 12:7-11. For His Glory, Mitch

 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

comments (1)

1. Barbara Warner Says:
August 11th, 2006 at 1:35 pm Dear Mitch: What a blessing to read your posting from yesterday. Richard and I are back in Mississippi. We returned on July 26 and will remain, Lord willing, until August 31st. We are working in Bay St. Louis (weat of Biloxi)with a church plant called Lagniappe Church. Check their web site www. Lagniappechurch.com. God is blessing the work here and we are praying that He will continue to send volunteers during the winter months. Anyway, we are so thankful for your heart of compassion and your desire to follow where the Lord is leading you with the Sandwich ministry. Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings flow. Barbara Warner (met at 1st Pres, Biloxi)